The present invention relates to a system for dispensing fluids, such as liquid soap, wherein the dispenser includes a lower reservoir compartment for the fluid to be dispensed and an upper refill compartment containing a fluid refill pouch in controlled communication with the lower reservoir compartment.
This invention is an improvement upon the systems for dispensing fluids disclosed and claimed in an application for U.S. Letters Patent, Ser. No. 10,013, filed Feb. 7, 1979 by Randel P. Smith for Fluid Injection Pouch And Dispensing System Incorporating The Same, the disclosure of that prior application being incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, and an application for U.S. Letters Patent, Ser. No. 150,556, filed May 16, 1980 by Antonio Macchi Cassia for Soap Dispensing System, the disclosure of the latter prior application being also incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present invention is also an improvement upon U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,573, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In the system of that patent, a container is provided with a refill aperture which is dimensioned so that at equal pressures inside and outside the container, liquid soap will flow therethrough only very slowly. Thus, in refilling the container, a special squeeze-bottle type refill cartridge or flexible walled fluid injection pouch cartridge is used in order to force the soap through the refill aperture, the cartridge outlet being closed by a pierceable membrane which is ruptured by a piercing member adjacent to the refill aperture to permit the flow of fluids from the refill cartridge.
While these prior dispensing systems work effectively, it has been found that an inconveniently long time is required for a service man to squeeze the contents of the refill cartridge into the reservoir of the dispenser. Generally, quite a few squeezes of the refill cartridge are necessary in order completely to empty it, and if the service man does not completely empty the cartridge, considerable soap wastage results.
Also, these prior systems have the disadvantage of leaving the refill aperture and the piercing member exposed to the atmosphere and possible contamination by dust and the like between refills.
Furthermore, in the case of an opaque container for soap on the dispenser, it is not possible readily to determine the amount of liquid soap left therein so as to know whether or not a refill is necessary.
There also have been provided heretofore flexible refill pouches for fluids with puncture structure therein, and typical structures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,321 granted Aug. 26, 1958 to Y. Lhermitte et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,588 granted Nov. 30, 1965 to M. Lipari, U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,923 granted June 14, 1966 to R. H. Soto, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,801 granted Aug. 3, 1971 to H. C. Barnack. None of these prior pouch systems and the puncture or adaptor structures therein was intended and designed to be used in conjunction with the refill well of an associated dispenser of the type disclosed and claimed herein.